A 22-year-old woman in labor has been killed in a car crash Sunday night while being driven to a hospital in North Carolina by her husband to deliver their baby boy, who survived the accident.

Megan Riggans, from Staley, North Carolina, and her husband, Brian Casey Riggans, were in the 2800 block of Greensboro-Chapel Hill Road shortly before 10pm when their car hydroplaned, careened off the side of rain-soaked road and slammed into a tree.

Trooper J.R. Zachary with the North Carolina Highway Patrol told the Burlington Times-News that the couple were on their way to UNC Chapel Hill Hospital because the 22-year-old victim was having contractions, which could possibly explain why she was not wearing a seat-belt at the time of the collision.

Life cut short: Megan Riggans, 22, has died after getting injured in a car crash while in labor

Tragic couple: Megan Riggans, right, and her husband, left, were involved in a car wreck Sunday night that cost the young wife and expecting mother her life

According to Megan’s Facebook page, the
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University graduate was
expected to give birth on September 27, which means that Riggans was nearly four weeks away from her due date at the time of the crash.

Zachary said because Riggans, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was not buckled in at the time of the crash, she was flung about the interior of the vehicle.

When first responders arrived on the scene, the mother-to-be was unconscious. Riggans was rushed to Alamance Regional Medical Center, where doctors delivered her baby, a boy.

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The mother was later pronounced dead from her injuries, but the newborn was breathing and still had a pulse.

He was transferred to UNC Hospital. In a phone interview with the Daily
Mail, Zachary said the child spent eight minutes with his oxygen supply
cut off, but doctors are not sure at this point what effect it has had
on his brain activity.

Crash site: The Riggans were driving to a hospital on Greensboro-Chapel Hill Road in rural Alamance County when their car hydroplaned and slammed into a tree

As of Tuesday afternoon, the newborn's condition was listed
as stable.

Zachary said that the Riggans visited the UNC Chapel Hill Hospital the day before after the 22-year-old started having contractions, but she was sent home.

Brian Casey Riggans was taken to UNC Hospital from the scene of the crash with three broken ribs, a hip injury, a crushed sinus cavity and fractured jaw, according to Zachary. His condition remains stable.

Zachary said the couple was married in April. Megan Riggans' mother told the state trooper on Tuesday that Brian is only know beginning to understand what happened.

The accident took place in a rural
area in southern Alamance County during a severe thunderstorm that
dumped heavy rains on highways, causing minor flooding and limiting
visibility.

Newlyweds: The Riggans got married this past April and were expecting the arrival of their first child, a boy, at the end of September